


A Hoarse I Love You

by a_velvet_blazer



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:47:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26983867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_velvet_blazer/pseuds/a_velvet_blazer
Summary: Alex knew he wasn’t particularly… pleasant when he got sick.Before, in the white house, June helped out.  She had a container of Vicks in her room and would bring him soup from the kitchen.  She had down the perfect mix of checking on him to make sure he was still breathing and leaving him alone to wallow.The times he was sick in the brownstone were easy enough to play off, with (a different) tub of Vicks in their bathroom with a nice collection of Advil and Tylenol.He has a system.That is, until he doesn't.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 12
Kudos: 206





	A Hoarse I Love You

Alex knew he wasn’t particularly… pleasant when he got sick. He had yet to get  _ really  _ while living in the brownstone, a few headaches here and there and a 24 hour bug once, but nothing that bad.

Before, in the white house, June helped out. She had a container of Vicks in her room and would bring him soup from the kitchen. She had down the perfect mix of checking on him to make sure he was still breathing and leaving him alone to wallow. 

The times he was sick in the brownstone were easy enough to play off, with (a different) tub of Vicks in their bathroom with a nice collection of Advil and Tylenol. Henry stayed home when he had the 24 hour bug and made him drink lots of tea, and that was that.

This morning, Alex slept in longer than Henry, which in and of itself isn’t too worrying. Alex stayed up later than him studying. But Alex is still wrapped in the sheets once Henry’s done getting ready, which is slightly more concerning. 

“Alex, love?” All he receives in response is a grunt, acknowledging he heard him. “Are you going to get up?” This time he sees his boyfriend shaking his head in response. He’s a little worried, normally Alex gets up and goes to class no matter what. If he doesn't go, it’s probably because Henry won’t let him (although he will admit at the end of the day Henry was right).

He reaches into the bundle of blankets that is his boyfriend, already feeling the heat radiating off of him. When his hand finally finds his forehead, he pulls back quickly.

“Alex, you feel hot, do you feel okay?” Alex tries (he thinks) to pull off a smolder (he doesn’t), but still doesn’t answer his question. Standing up and getting the thermometer from the bathroom, Henry gently pulls the blankets away from Alex’s face, who only whines in protest. He begrudgingly opens his mouth, allowing Henry to place the thermometer under his tongue. 

Alex isn’t all too aware of what’s happening. He feels cold and his throat feels scratchy and just really doesn’t want to move. But Henry’s leaning over him and his big blue eyes are filled with  _ worry _ and god damn it, Alex can’t resist him even if he feels like the living representation of shit. 

He sees Henry’s eyes get wider as he looks at the thermometer, and even in his current state, Alex can guess he probably has a fever (if the chills weren’t already a dead giveaway).

Henry is slowly working away the outer blankets, so much so that Alex doesn’t realize until he’s gently tugging at the innermost one, which Alex is holding onto for dear life. Then Henry’s slowly helping him sit up and swing his legs over the edge of the bed. 

“Alex, darling, do you think you can walk to the closet?” Alex tries to answer him, expecting maybe a hoarse voice due to his irritated throat.

What he doesn’t expect is nothing.

Henry looks at him, a little confused. When Alex tries again, he manages to produce a squeak this time. Confused, he tries one more time, focusing on the words, “I think.” They’re small words, only two syllables in total. He can do this.

Nada.

Alex looks very confused and a little concerned. Staring at nothing in particular, he keeps trying to make a noise, only getting small squeaks here and there. Looking at Henry, mouth poised to speak, he tries to communicate telepathically that  _ he can’t talk _ . 

After watching Alex try and fail to talk, Henry gets up slowly, making sure Alex won’t fall over, before grabbing a notebook and a pen from his bedside table. He hands it to Alex, who accepts it with a small smile before he starts writing.

I can’t talk.

“I noticed.” Henry laughs, but it quickly turns into a cough when Alex glares at him. He might not be able to vocalize his thoughts at the moment but he can sure as hell use his eyes.

“You have a temperature,” Henry continues, looking back at the thermometer. “It says 102.1º which I’m pretty sure is high, but I don’t know your weird temperature scale.” Alex grimaces, feeling it. Despite now knowing that he is (very) hot, he still feels cold and uses his free hand to grasp the blanket still around him a little more. 

“I think you should go to the doctor-” Alex is already writing before Henry can finish. 

He makes a mental note that even when he’s mute he can still filibuster (kinda) with the best of ‘em.

No no no no no pleassssse no

Just get out the Vicks

Henry cups his face and looks deep into his eyes as he says, “No darling. You have a fever, which is definitely worrying  _ and _ you can’t talk. Please, go for me.” 

Alex wants to say no. He’s never liked the doctor’s office. There was a reason June was his primary care provider in the white house. But it’s also Henry with his big blue eyes and soft blond hair and pink lips and-

“Alex?” He blinks, rejoining reality. “That’s it, we’re going. If I walk with you can you make it to the closet? Or should I bring clothes out here?” Alex knows he won’t win this, so he swallows his pride (and winces), writing a response.

Can you bring some out here?

Henry mouths a thank you before getting up again, walking over towards the closet. A few minutes later, Henry’s gently shaking his knee with a pile of clothes. Alex realizes he nodded off, mentally cursing whatever this is.

Henry undresses him, peeling off sweaty pjs and helping him into a t-shirt and sweatpants, followed by an NYU Law sweatshirt. 

“I texted Cash, he’s outside with the car to take us.” Alex nods slowly, mentally preparing for the trip down the stairs. He’s tired just from sitting here so getting down to the first floor from the third will be… long. Henry’s so patient though, draping one arm under Alex’s and taking nearly all his weight for the first staircase. 

Alex sits on the bench before they go down the next, taking a break. However, once he stands back up, he’s (literally) swept off his feet. He opens his mouth to protest, but Henry, who’s holding him with an arm under his back and another under his knees, simply smiles at him.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Alex gasps (that he can manage) before Henry slowly walks down the next flight, taking care not to hit Alex’s head or socked feet on anything. 

After what feels like forever, they make it to the car, where Alex mercifully gets to lay down in Henry’s lap. He falls asleep quickly, relaxed by Henry’s fingers brushing through his hair. 

At the doctor’s office, things go by pretty quickly. Alex is given another pen and pad to write symptoms and answer questions with, while the doctor herself examines his throat. It’s not all that bad, except for the camera that got shoved down his throat. In the end, he and Henry are leaving 2 hours later with a prescription for antibiotics and a diagnosis of Laryngitis.

Henry doesn’t laugh. It’s not funny.

It is just a little, teeny, weeny bit ironic though. 

When they text June, Nora, and Pez, none of them hesitate to send a laughing emoji (followed by well wishes, at least from June). Alex responds with a selfie, where he’s sticking his tongue out.

The next few days are oddly quiet in the brownstone, save the occasional barks from David and the more frequent coughs from Alex. Henry doesn’t stray far from Alex, who mainly sleeps, drinks tea, or watches Netflix in front of their new humidifier. David also stays close, curling up to Alex every chance he gets. 

Henry tells Alex of how much he loves him as much as he can, kissing him when he’s asleep, or making sure he drinks plenty of tea and water, refilling the humidifier after each use. He reasons without Alex able to vocalize it as much as he does, Henry can speak for the both of them. Their love, as vocalized as it may be, is more than the declarations of love, but is also in all the actions they do for the other.

Don’t be fooled, Alex still mouths it at least 25 times a day. Sometimes Henry’s back is turned and he doesn’t notice, or he tries saying it directly into the humidifier but he loves him so much. 

He can now officially say (kinda) that he told Henry he loves him until he lost his voice (they actually weren’t exactly sure what caused the laryngitis, but who’s gonna call him out on that). 

After not actually speaking for 4 days, Alex woke up one morning to find the scratchiness in his throat wasn’t as bad as it was the days before. His gorgeous boyfriend was curled into his chest, probably still asleep from the looks of it. 

As quietly as possible, Alex tried talking. He didn’t want to whisper, the doctor had told him that could do more harm than good, but he also didn’t want to wake Henry. Quietly, he tried saying the royal’s name, smiling quietly when he did. It was hoarse and scratchy, but it was more than the squeaks he’d only been able to manage in the past few days. 

He nuzzled into Henry, who blearily blinked up at him. He had taken a week off to be home with Alex, both of them lounging around, sleeping in much later than normal. Smiling when his brown eyes found those beautiful blue ones, he smiled and said again, “I love you.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I did this instead of my homework,, oops


End file.
